Mezze!

We welcomed a new babysitter into the fold last night. It was time for our former sitter to move onto something different. Meh. It happens, right? You sort of get burned out after a while. I'm glad things ended well. And LittleBiscuit seems to like the new lady. We'll see how things progress. Anyway, I kept forgetting to post pics of my haircut. Yes, I decided to go with a fringe, or bangs, as we Americans say. Sniff. Taken with "date" eyeshadow but still in my thermal shirt. Hah!

Dining at Byblos is always a treat. MrBiscuit and I haven't been there for months and were practically drooling as we hurriedly made our way through the slushy streets to the warm environs awaiting us.

We scrambled out of our coats and settled down in our favorite comfy spot underneath the vine-like plants spread over our heads, like the famed hanging gardens of Babylon. Three generations of local Lebanese men gathered around a table in the corner and played a game of backgammon while sharing a hookah and a pot of coffee. In short, it was quite cozy.

No white Lebanese wine being available, we chose to start our meal with Ksara Prieure, a full-bodied, fruity, and medium dry red. MrBiscuit had his usual shot of arak.

Dinner! Starting from the left: tabbouleh, the very best hummus snoubar on the planet, kalaj jibneh (cheese baked in pita), and finally, the most perfect falafel.

Rounding out the meal, we have sojok, slightly spicy sausage slices (say *that* five times) in a thick tomato sauce:

The Ksara seemed a bit dry to drink alone but went well with the food, especially the sojok. MrBiscuit gave me the inspired idea of dipping the kalaj jibneh into the hummus. Genius, that man.

I'm ashamed to admit we rarely finish all the food we order but this time, the ending was different. Witness the devastation:

The rest of our date didn't go so well. We headed over to Slovanský dům to hit the cinema. I was looking forward to seeing An American Haunting. I had read about the Bell Witch and, having lived in Tennessee myself years ago, I thought it might be interesting. Plus, I like jumpy, spooky movies.

I warned MrBiscuit that I'd read there were re-shoots and a massive re-editing of this film after a poor initial showing. That doesn't bode well, does it? Usually when that occurs, the movie ends up seeming less than cohesive. And that is one of the problems which plagued An American Haunting.

The Powers That Be decided to tack on some modern storyline to the beginning and end (and in the middle, grounding the film to a screeching halt for the sake of continuity, which didn't work overall, imo) and add a voice-over by Sissy Spacek's character, Lucy, tying the past to the present. (Can I add that I really hope I age as well as this woman? She looks amazing!)

Despite all the clues you are given, you still might miss the Big Reveal, which involves sexual abuse and the creation of a poltergeist alter-ego as some deus ex machina to explain the ghost and its raison d'être. Note: nothing in my reading on the Bell Witch mentions this hypothesis but that doesn't mean it has no merit.

The movie is dis-jointed and a waste of mood and talent. I'm sure the leads were pretty pissed to discover how their movie ended up when finally making it to the screen. Hey, at least it's only 90 minutes.